XLII. The Monster Club of Monsters
Tuesday was yet another rare sunny day in Forks, which meant I trundled along in the old, red truck by my lonesome. It was rather dull and normal, and it made the past weekend feel hazy, almost dream-like.
I hadn't made it beyond the parking lot, when Jessica was flagging me down and dragging me over to one of the picnic tables near the cafeteria.
"You have to tell me everything," she said with a dopey smile, sliding onto the bench across from me.
I blinked. "You mean the wedding?"
"Duh! What else would I be talking about?" Jessica grinned.
"Right. Speaking of which," I remembered, reaching inside of my backpack and withdrawing a tupperware container. "Cake. Just as promised."
"Yay!" she squealed, snatching the container from my grasp, popping off the lid, and grabbing the disposable fork I'd included. "Oh my gosh!" she mumbled around a mouthful. "That's delicious! Please tell me you have more at home!"
I laughed. "Yeah, I might be able to bring you another slice. Provided the chief doesn't beat you to it."
"Do you think he'd arrest me if I challenged him over cake rights?"
"Seeing as that's not illegal, I imagine not."
Jessica hummed around another bite of cake. "Was it as romantic as we'd hoped?.
"Yeah," I smiled wistfully, recalling the magic of the wedding ceremony, before it had been tainted by blood and water. "It was all that and more. I wish you could've seen it."
"Aww, me too," she pouted. "Also, I was going to ask if you wanted to go shopping with me after school today."
My eyebrows shot up. "Shopping? What on earth for?"
Jessica set her fork down with a scowl. "Oh, it is so like you to forget! Did you even ask Edward?"
"Ask him what?" I huffed, trying not to roll my eyes, lest Jessica grow any more incensed with me.
Jess made a sound of frustration. "Isabella!" she whined. "Sadie Hawkins is this Saturday! You mean to tell me you really haven't asked Edward?!"
"Wait, what?! It's this Saturday?!" I gaped. Where had the time gone?
Suddenly, my thoughts were besieged by a host of memories―Bella going to Port Angeles, dress shopping, book hunting, and then nearly being raped.
I shuddered, growing pale with horror.
"Actually," I said, before Jessica could explode into another lecture. "Can we go tomorrow? I'd like to invite Alice."
There's no way I'd ever be returning to Port Angeles without backup. Once had been bad enough.
Plus, Alice would kill me if she discovered I'd planned a shopping trip without including her.
Jessica paused, looking stunned. "Um, yeah no big, we can wait until tomorrow."
"Perfect," I grinned, pushing myself to my feet in time for the bell ring. "Sounds like a plan!"
"Wait!" Jessica said, popping the lid back onto the tupperware container and jumping up. "There's something else you have to do first!"
I turned back around. "What's that?"
Jessica's face split into a toothy grin. "You have to ask Edward to the dance!"
After a full school day, in which Jessica came up with a list of cute ideas on how to ask Edward to the dance, a fight that broke out over cake, and being mercifully excused from gym on account of my injury, I began the long drive over to La Push.
Although it'd only been three days since I'd last seen Leah, it felt like a lifetime.
There were still so many things I hadn't shared with them, and I wondered if I was doing the right thing. With Leah, it had been so easy to see she'd been wronged and to do something about it. But I was becoming more entrenched in tribal secrets, and when the elders inevitably discovered my involvement, I imagined they would despise the idea of an outsider having a say in any of it.
And while I had avoided being cornered by Billy for this long, I knew sooner or later, I would have to face him. He wasn't totally wrong to be concerned. Unfortunately, I was sure that whatever malice the future held for me, he would likely condemn the Cullens. I doubted there was anything I could say or do to circumvent that.
My thoughts spiraled down a rabbit hole of unease as I drove through the winding neighborhood. Once I reached Leah's house, I slowed the truck to a shuddering stop.
I'd barely pushed open the driver door when I saw Leah jogging across the mossy lawn. "Isabella! Finally!"
"I literally just got out of school," I reminded her, jumping out of the truck and slamming the door shut behind me.
"Oh," she said, wrinkling her nose as she ground to a halt by my side. "I forgot Forks High gets out later than us. Come on," she said, walking back the way I'd driven. "We're meeting up in Jacob's garage."
I fell into step with her, as we walked alongside the neighborhood road. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?"
"Of course!" Leah said, shooting me a sharp look. "I'm not making the same mistakes as those old codgers. He deserves to know. But…you know I can't do this without you."
"What makes you think they'll take me at my word?"
Leah scoffed loudly. "Are you fucking kidding me? Those idiots practically worship the ground you walk on!"
I cracked a grin. "I think you're exaggerating."
"Maybe," she shrugged. "But Jacob's puppy dog eyes haven't lost their shine and the novelty of being Quil's cousin hasn't quite worn off yet."
"Let's hope that's enough," I said with a nervous laugh. "I'm quite tired of having to be the bearer of bad news."
"No kidding," Leah snorted, features soft with understanding. "But someone has to be. And you haven't been shot down so far, so you must be doing something right."
"Maybe," I reluctantly agreed. "I know it's the right thing to do, but it's not easy."
"It isn't. But I don't take you for a coward, Swan."
"Thanks," I said, feeling oddly surprised. Leah didn't strike me as the type to readily hand out compliments, so I took her at her word, even though I didn't feel particularly brave. "You're pretty fearless yourself. How's everything going on your end?"
Leah snorted, gesturing for me to follow her across the road and through the forest. "As well as can be expected, I guess."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning, my parents think I'm insane for throwing out all of their alcohol and the book I'm reading on managing my anger is such bullshit," she groused, kicking a fallen branch out of our path. "It keeps suggesting garbage like 'think before you speak' and 'forgiveness is essential.' Like, how are people supposed to know they fucked up if I can't even say what I'm thinking?! And I'm supposed to spare their feelings or something? Like I said, bullshit."
"You do realize, you can be honest without losing your temper," I pointed out as I carefully stepped over a wet, thorny bush.
She shot me a disgruntled look. "I guess. I feel like it loses its effectiveness though."
"I'm sure some people deserve the full force of your anger," I agreed. "But with the direction things are headed in, you can't allow yourself the freedom of expressing that anger whenever you want. Not unless you want to quicken the shift."
"Yeah, yeah," she grumbled. "I get it. I'm not an idiot. Doesn't mean I have to like it though."
"No, it doesn't," I sighed. "You threw out your parents' alcohol? What's that about?"
Leah turned to me with a feral grin. "They just about lost their shit. Threw out a bunch of junk food too and told my dad he could have it all back once he's no longer on the verge of having a heart attack."
I blew out a low whistle. "Gee, I can see why they wouldn't take that well."
"My mom pissed me off though," she said, stomping hard enough to splash mud on my boots. "She knew I was right, but refused to side with me. Said I was taking things to the extreme. But I don't give a shit. They don't know what I know."
"True. But, keep in mind that if your dad doesn't want to be helped, you can't force him," I reminded her gently.
Leah shrugged, appearing unconcerned. "Once your little vampire clan leaves, he can finally go to the doctors and get a clue. It's been way too long since he last got a check-up, and I can only assume his health has worsened since then."
I stumbled to a stop. "What?"
Leah turned around, eyeing me curiously. "What is it?"
"What do you mean the Cullens are leaving?"
Leah's eyebrows arched high. "You mean you didn't know? The doctor said he'd already put in his notice and promised me they'd be out of our hair by June."
I shook my head. "I knew they were making preparations for a new house, but I didn't realize they'd already set a date to leave."
"That's fucked up. Aren't you supposed to be his son's girlfriend? How has this not come up?" she demanded.
I frowned in thought. Taking Alice's vision into account, I supposed it made sense that they would prepare in this way. Their departure couldn't bring suspicion upon them, if it were announced months before my 'disappearance.'
No wonder Esme was doing a rush job on the construction of the house. Whether I survived or not, they would be leaving regardless.
"It's fine," I waved her off. "Like I said, I already knew they were getting the new house ready. Besides, since when have you been friends with Carlisle?"
"Oh, that," she said as she moved to pick her way through the damp brush. I hurried after her. "Remember, I told you I was going to talk to someone at the hospital regarding my dad's health."
"Yeah," I said, eyes narrowing. "But I didn't think you'd be interested in talking to the one doctor who's a vampire."
"Look, Swan," she said, shooting me a look over her shoulder. "I don't care that being near their kind is quickening the inevitable. I understand the risks and I've accepted the probable consequences. But keeping my nose out of it won't do me any good, especially when the elders refuse to step up. I need to see this through."
"Of course, I understand," I sighed. "I guess I just assumed that with Sam's involvement, you'd want nothing to do with any of this."
Leah barked a sharp, bitter laugh. "Trust me, I don't. But someone has to call them out on their bullshit."
I nodded in agreement. "True. How much further is it?"
"Just through here," she said, ducking under a low hanging branch, and pointing towards the tall, wide shed nestled in between a grove of trees some distance away.
"The guys are there already?" I asked, falling back into step beside her.
"They said they would be," she shrugged. "Come on, let's see what those idiots are up to."
She lengthened her steps and I hurried to catch up.
When we walked inside, it was to find Quil and Embry scribbling across a tall, rolling blackboard, while Jacob was sprawled across the couch with what looked like a thermometer sticking out of his mouth.
"What the hell. Where did you guys get that?!" Leah demanded, gesturing towards the blackboard.
"Isabella!" Quil grinned, tossing aside a stick of chalk and hurrying over to pull me into a bear hug.
"Hey Quil," I said, patting his back before gently pushing him off.
"We borrowed it from one of the classrooms," Embry explained to Leah with a sheepish smile.
"Borrowed it? Yeah right," she scoffed. "What is all that?"
I followed her to get a closer look as well, Quil at my heels.
Many of the white scribbles were crossed out, and it was such a mess, it was hard to make sense of it.
"We're trying to come up with a name," Jacob suddenly chimed in, joining us while eyeing the numbers on the thermometer. "Damn, no change."
"Are you sick?" I asked him.
"Nah," Leah answered on his behalf, eyes still glued to the board. "They're just checking for werewolf symptoms."
"Huh. Little early for that."
"Try telling them that," she snorted, and then read off the blackboard, "'The Furbidden Club?' What the fuck?"
"I came up with that one," Embry piped up with a sudden grin. "You know, like Fight Club. But not."
"Very punny," I said.
"Thanks!"
"Pretty sure that wasn't a compliment," Quil cut in.
"Oh please," Embry scowled. "Like 'Unawarewolves' is any better. It just makes us sound like idiots."
"I thought it was funny," Quil pouted.
"It's not," Leah told him flatly.
"You should see some of the other shit he came up with," Jacob snickered, and pointed to one of the names that'd been scratched out.
I squinted my eyes and read, "'Fursonas Anonymous?' Really Quil?"
"I was kidding!" he said, holding his hands up.
"Sure."
Quil glared at Jacob. "Like 'Halloween Rejects' is any more flattering."
"That one actually isn't too bad," Leah said with a thoughtful look.
"Hah!" Jacob grinned triumphantly. "I also came up with Fureign Legion."
"No puns," Leah said with a glower.
Jacob rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
"Which one do you like, Isabella?" Embry asked, turning to me with hopeful eyes.
I shrugged. "No werewolf gene, no opinion."
"What?! No way!" Quil protested. "You're totally a part of this!"
"I guess we got a little carried away with the werewolf references," Jacob grinned. "We'll come up with something a little more inclusive."
"Um, that's really not necessary," I laughed.
"It totally is," Embry said and tossed me a piece of chalk. "I don't have the werewolf gene either, so feel free to write some ideas down!"
I rolled the chalk across my palm before setting it down on the blackboard. "Maybe later. I wanted to have a chat with you all first."
The guys exchanged looks.
"You sound serious," Embry said.
"That's because it is serious," Leah said, moving to fall back onto the couch. "Haven't you guys ever wondered why Isabella knows about our tribe's secrets?"
"We did speculate," Jacob admitted, leaning against the side of his partially built car. "We just assumed Isabella helped you figure everything out. Is that not it?"
"Kind of," I admitted and took the other spot on the couch beside Leah, folding my legs underneath me. "I did help her figure it out, but not because we were conspiring together. I already knew about all of it."
"Wait, how?" Quil demanded, brow furrowing. "I know we're cousins, but you didn't grow up around our legends. And even then, why would you think they're true?"
"Because," Leah grinned toothily. "Isabella here isn't a werewolf or a vampire. She's not even a mermaid. She's a mutant."
Instantly, the boys erupted into a cacophony of loud questions and shrill sounds of glee.
"The X-Men are REAL?!"
"What's your superpower? Please tell me you can shoot lightning out of your hands!"
"Are you here to recruit us?! Because the answer is YES! A thousand times yes!"
"What's your hero name? I bet it's something badass!"
I turned to Leah with a mean scowl, tuning out the rest of their nonsensical demands.
"Seriously?" I said.
Leah snickered and then turned to shout, "HEY!" Once silence reigned, she said, "If you three would shut the hell up, maybe Isabella could actually answer your dumbass questions."
"They're not dumb," Quil grumbled.
I heaved a loud sigh. "No, the X-Men aren't real. No, I can't shoot lightning out of my hands. No, I'm not here to recruit you. No, I don't have a hero name, because I'm not a hero. And I wouldn't exactly call myself a mutant, but I suppose it's not entirely inaccurate."
"Damn, that stinks," Embry muttered.
"Not entirely inaccurate?" Jacob repeated, still looking strangely excited. "What does that mean?"
"My 'powers' are not as interesting as you guys are probably imagining," I admitted with a rueful smile. "But one of them is that I tend to know things that I shouldn't. I knew about the Cullens being vampires, before I ever spoke a word to them. And I knew about the Quileute wolf shifters before I even visited the reservation. So when Leah told me about what had happened with Sam, I felt that she deserved to know the truth. And she in turn, felt that you all deserved to know the truth."
"Whoa," Quil said, wide-eyed. "Is that true, Leah?"
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. No need to go all soft on me, Quil."
"That was really cool of you, Leah," Embry grinned.
"I didn't think she had a sweet bone in her body," Jacob snickered.
Leah glared. "Please. Spare me the sentiment."
Above Quil's muffled laughter, Embry said, "Still, superpowers? That's hella cool! You're like a little fortune cookie!"
Leah guffawed suddenly. "Fortune cookie? I'm gonna have to remember that one!"
"Why don't we get back on track?" I suggested with a small huff.
"Right," Leah agreed, quickly sobering and sweeping her gaze between Embry and I, before announcing, "Anyway, now that we're all aware of little Miss Know-it-all, it's time to lay down the facts."
"Which are?" Jacob prodded.
At Leah's gesture, I turned to Embry and said, "You were wrong, about what you said before. I don't know who your dad is, Embry, but I do know that you carry the werewolf gene. You're one of the next in line to shift."
Embry froze.
"What?!" Quil exclaimed, features lighting up in excitement. "That's wicked! Now we all get to be werewolves! Hell yeah!"
"Dumbass," Jacob glared at him. "It means one of us is his brother."
"Oh. Well…you can be mine," Quil shrugged nonchalantly and tossed an arm around Embry's shoulders. "My old man is dead, so it's not like he's around to defend himself. Just don't tell my mom I said that."
Jacob looked ready to protest, but shut his mouth with a click of his teeth.
I supposed, if I were him, I wouldn't want to implicate my dad of committing adultery either.
"Thanks," Embry said, almost shy.
"Great!" Leah clapped her hands. "Now that that's settled, what the hell are we supposed to do with all of that?" she demanded, gesturing towards the blackboard.
Jacob hopped to his feet and joined Quil and Embry by the board, snatching up the chalk stick. "Nothing else to it. We gotta name our little club. That way, it's official."
"Nerds," Leah scoffed. "Better be something good."
I grinned. "You guys got a chalkboard eraser? I think it's time to come up with a new list."
"I like the way you think," Jacob agreed, tossing the eraser my way. "Got any ideas?"
"Hmm, maybe one or two," I said, pushing myself to my feet. "Come on Leah, I'll need your help."
"Fine," she bit out, and got up to follow after me.
There was plenty of bickering and plain awful ideas to go around, as my large, looping handwriting filled the blackboard. But over the following hour, Embry grew more relaxed, until he was his chipper self once more.
In the end we settled on The Monster Club of Monsters. I had to get my Harry Potter references in there somewhere. My initial suggestion of: Therapy for our Furry Little Problems had been shot down. And Leah's idea of: We're Truly Fucked Society (WTF Society for short) had been vetoed by Quil and I on account of it being too pessimistic.
"Sorry, guys," I said, checking the time on my flip phone. "I have to meet up with Jess in a bit, so I have to go. But let's do this again soon!"
"Totally! You're welcomed in Jacob's garage at any time!" Quil exclaimed.
I laughed. "Thanks."
"Come on, I'll walk you back to your car," Leah said, grasping me by the sleeve of my coat before I could be tackled into any more hugs.
"Alright, bye guys," I called, careening after Leah as she dragged me away.
"Bye Isabella!"
"See you later!"
"What did I tell you?" Leah said, as soon as we were some distance away and traipsing through the forest again. "See? They totally took you at your word."
"Did you really have to make all that fuss by calling me a mutant though?" I huffed a small laugh.
"Worse than being idiots, they're total nerds," she snorted. "I figured it was the easiest way to explain it."
"Glad you were so well prepared."
She eyed my deadpan expression with barely concealed laughter. "Don't get so bent out of shape, Swan. Race you back to my house?"
"Wha―Leah! Wait up!"
No need to pick me up this morning! Meet me in front of the cafeteria?
Edward's text came near instantly.
Alice already warned me. Is everything alright?
I grinned. I knew it wouldn't be much of a surprise, but it was nice that Alice was at least trying to prolong the suspense. Even if the game would be over as soon as Edward was within range of Jessica's thoughts.
Yep! See you soon :)
I met up with Jess earlier than usual, just underneath the cafeteria awning to avoid the gentle drizzle.
"We have everything?" I checked, pushing back my hood and shaking out my hair from where it was tucked inside of my coat.
"Yeah, I got here just before it started raining, so it's not ruined," Jess reassured me, lifting up the white poster board in her arms.
Her eyes glittered with anticipation, peeking just above the streaks of green, lavender, and yellow.
We'd borrowed supplies from the art room and spent all afternoon coming up with a design. Ultimately, I'd chosen to paint the flowers from the meadow and Jessica found out all about our secret spot.
"Thank you, Jess! I couldn't have done this without you!"
"What else are best friends for?" she beamed. "When is he coming?"
"Soon, I expect. I trust Alice to make sure of it."
"Okay, then we better set this up quick," she decided, glancing around her, before moving to balance the poster board on one of the benches, propping it up against the table behind it. "That good?"
"Looks fine to me," I said.
"Where did you get those flowers?!" she demanded once she turned, eyes landing on the bouquet in my hands.
"I found a patch of wildflowers near my house," I explained, holding up the mass of brightly colored flowers. I'd wrapped them with light gold tissue paper and tied them off in a thin white ribbon I'd taken from a box of old craft supplies I'd found in Bella's room. I assumed it had been a gift from Renée that she'd never bothered using. "What do you think?"
"They're so pretty!" she said, but then frowned. "But…do boys even like flowers?"
"Of course boys like flowers, Jess," I assured her.
"If you say so," she shrugged, not appearing totally convinced. "Ooh! Here he comes!"
I quickly turned and caught sight of Alice dragging Edward around the corner of the lot and up the walkway leading to the cafeteria. His hair was dark and slick with rainwater and he wore an exasperated expression as Alice talked at him, appearing on the verge of laughter.
My heart burst with affection at the sight of him.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jess hurrying to back away, and I remembered to move and stand beside the poster board.
As soon as he was near enough, just shy of the awning, I called, "Edward!"
His head shot up, bright eyes meeting mine, before his gaze fell down to the flowers in my hand, and then over to the board propped up beside me.
In neat lettering, just above the flowers, I'd written: Will you be my date to Sadie Hawkins?
"Well?" I asked, when he didn't immediately respond.
And then, his face broke out into a breathtakingly pleased smile. "Yes, I would be most honored."
A/N: Let's all give a shout out to Banestre for unintentionally starting the "poke" trend, which resulted in my inbox being congested with over three dozen reviews across this series also "poking" me for an update. When I said y'all could bug me mid-October, I didn't expect for anyone to actually take me up on it…
But in all seriousness, thank you to everyone for being so respectful when I said I was taking a brief hiatus. I appreciate it! :)
And thank you for the well wishes! I did get sick again, but it wasn't as bad this time. It's been a strange year.
Also, keep in mind that we'll be boarding the canon train again for the next three or four chapters! Let me know your thoughts on the chapter please! :)
